Best retinues for byzantines?

[kertdog]

I've just been going pure cataphracts but its very expensive, whats a good general ratio of retinues to have?

[jfoytek]

You need to change the title of this post...

The best retinue is the Cataphracts that wont change the best retinue for any country is TYPICALLY its cultural retinue....

Maybe the post should read best Budget Retinue in which case it WON'T be the best retinue for the byzantines it will be a Retinue that give some kind of mix of performance and affordability...

So the Defense Retinue while likely be the best mix of price and performance but you need to consider how you use it.....

As you will NOT want to mix it with your Cataraphacts...

Good Defense Retinues need to be 70% Pike.... And since they come with 250 Pike and 50 archers you pretty much cannot add any other levys in with it....

So thats your answer the Defense Retinue will give you the best peformance per gold invested but you can't mix it with levys nor should you EVER mix it with the Cataphracts....

You could mix in the basic Cavalry retinue with the Cataphracts there a bit cheeper... Just be sure your maintaining the needed % of Heavy Cavalry to make
Embolon Charge - Possible:

1.5 - Martial 8, Heavy Cavalry 60% of all melee units
1.5 - Martial 12, Heavy Cavalry 50% of all melee units
1.5 - Martial 16, Heavy Cavalry 40% of all melee units

[kertdog]

Originally posted by jfoytek:

The best retinue is the Cataphracts that wont change the best retinue for any country is TYPICALLY its cultural retinue....

So assuming if i have plenty of income, the best retinue will just be pure cataphracts on a single flank with a cavalry leader commander?

[jfoytek]

Originally posted by Pitviper:

Originally posted by jfoytek:

The best retinue is the Cataphracts that wont change the best retinue for any country is TYPICALLY its cultural retinue....

So assuming if i have plenty of income, the best retinue will just be pure cataphracts on a single flank with a cavalry leader commander?

Sorta Correct the commander needs to be Greek

For Embolon Charge

You need Brave, Aggressive Leader, or Cavalry Leader for the Tactic
Heroic Counter Charge...

So if you have a (Brave, Aggressive or Cavalry Leader ) Greek

Then you have the chance that either one of those awesome tactics will fire off..... And they are both really good.... But embolon charge only requires Greek Culture...

[kertdog]

Originally posted by jfoytek:

Originally posted by Pitviper:

So assuming if i have plenty of income, the best retinue will just be pure cataphracts on a single flank with a cavalry leader commander?

Sorta Correct the commander needs to be Greek

For Embolon Charge

You need Brave, Aggressive Leader, or Cavalry Leader for the Tactic
Heroic Counter Charge...

So if you have a (Brave, Aggressive or Cavalry Leader ) Greek

Then you have the chance that either one of those awesome tactics will fire off..... And they are both really good.... But embolon charge only requires Greek Culture...

Ok thanks for the tips, got nearly 200 hours on this game and im still yet to fully learn the combat/tactics system :P

[jfoytek]

Originally posted by Pitviper:

Originally posted by jfoytek:

Sorta Correct the commander needs to be Greek

For Embolon Charge

You need Brave, Aggressive Leader, or Cavalry Leader for the Tactic
Heroic Counter Charge...

So if you have a (Brave, Aggressive or Cavalry Leader ) Greek

Then you have the chance that either one of those awesome tactics will fire off..... And they are both really good.... But embolon charge only requires Greek Culture...

Ok thanks for the tips, got nearly 200 hours on this game and im still yet to fully learn the combat/tactics system :P

I probally had 1600 hours in before I delved into that area of the game... and to be honest I almost wish that I didn't understand it as much as I do.... As while it may have been frustrating to lose a battle now and then and not really know why my 40K stack just lost to a 30K stack....

Understanding the innner workings of the combat now allows me to crush the AI without mercy with less men which just leads into the main issue CK2 has..... Steep learning curve but once you learn the game, it really becomes easy.... But I digress its still my favorite game and I can always find new creative ways to handicap myself....

[Visual Basic]

Yeah typically your cultural retinue will be the best combat wise. Keep in mind though that retinues such as the light skirmish retinue are invaluable as well due to how the ai calculates your power. With light skirmish you get the most troops per retinue point which your vassals and enemies consider when deciding to revolt or declare on you. This can be very useful if you’re more worried about revolts than you are your offensive wars. Also the inflated troop numbers help with early raiding as you can more easily assault holdings and surpass their garrison number if your levy is low for some reason.